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Top Spots For French Fries In Denver

April 11, 2012

Just as you would find on the streets of Belgium, Manneken Frites serves up fresh cut, twice cooked fries served in a traditional paper cone paired with a seemingly endless list of dipping sauces. If freshness and quality is at the top your list when ordering french fries, this is a top choice that won’t break the bank.

Cheering on those who see opportunity in economic crisis

October 9, 2011

Chris Stromberg opened Manneken Frites, a Belgian fries shop, in Olde Town Arvada on July 30. It was something he and his wife, Kimberly, had talked about for 15 years. At first, Chris says, "it was kind of a joke, like, oh, the frite shop." Fresh, hand-cut, salted fries in paper cones, the yellow-brick road to their retirement.

But, still in his 40s, he was twice laid off from accounting jobs. With no other frite shops around, he and his wife decided that while now is not a good time, it would be their time. "Just don't lose the house," Kimberly told him.

"Don't put that in the paper," Chris says.

"I have to," I say. "It shows the risk you and your wife have taken."

I find Chris though Hazel Hartbarger, whom I call because I'm weary of the onslaught of grim economic news. I am, as you know by now, ever in search of a silver lining. Hazel — the very name is a comfort — is director of the Arvada Economic Development Association. You want to know the comings and goings of businesses in Arvada, Hazel is your woman. Who is opening businesses in this economy, I ask. What's it take?

"A whole lot of courage," Hazel says. Since Jan. 1, roughly 160 businesses have opened and 142 have closed in town. That includes home-based businesses, which churn more than brick-and-mortar companies. "The key is you have to have a good product, but, as well, you have to have really exceptional customer service," Hazel says, rattling off names of new businesses. "I could go on," she says.